OrderPaperToday – The Senate on Tuesday resolved to probe the alleged killing of Ifeoma Abugu, who recently concluded her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) by the personnel of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a unit in the Nigeria Police Force.

On the 10th of September, three policemen had gone to the residence of Ifeoma’s fiancé, Afam Ugwunwa, at Wumba village in the Lokogoma area of Abuja to arrest him.

They met her instead then took her away in place of Afam. She was detained, reportedly raped and killed by them.

While the Federal Capital Territory Police Command said it will investigate the alleged murder of the graduate of the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, the red chamber decided to look into it.

This followed a motion moved by Senator Chukwuka Utazi who stated that the arrest of the deceased was even in violation of Section 7 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the presidential directive on the re-organisation of SARS.

Utazi recalled the atrocities of operatives of SARS squad that “bothers on high-handedness and allegations of human right violations including illegal arrests, detention and extra judicial killing of Nigerians under very questionable and controversial circumstances.”

He noted that in 2018, the federal government, in response, to public outcry and media reports on the unlawful activities of SARS, set up a presidential panel on reform of SARS and the report of the panel formed the basis of the presidential directive on the overhaul of the activities of SARS to ensure that the special squad is intelligence-driven, human rights sensitive and restricted to the prevention and detention of heinous crimes such as armed robbery and kidnapping and apprehension of offenders linked to the stated offences.

But despite all efforts to reform SARS, “the notorious squad has remained brutal in its operation with very little or no regard to the observance of human rights and suspects contrary to its scope of activities and the presidential directive regarding its operation and has even veered away from its core mandate”, the Senator stated.

Consequently the following prayers were adopted by the red chamber: “Condemn the extra judicial killing of Ms Ifeoma by SARS FCT and further condone with the family of the deceased and the people of Enugu State

“Mandate the Senate Committee on Police Affairs and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to investigate the circumstances that led to the arrest, detention and extra judicial killing of Ms Ifeoma by operatives of SARS FCT police command and to report back their findings and recommendations in two weeks.

“Mandate the Senate Committee on Police Affairs and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to investigate the status of the presidential directive on the reorganisation of the SARS in the light of the recent public outcry over atrocities perpetrated by SARS and to report back in two weeks.

A minute silence thereafter observed for the deceased.